The Secret by Debbie Howells

Author:Debbie Howells [Howells, Debbie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2021-08-10T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

Elise

‘Me and Stephanie? You really are insane.’ Andrew’s voice is patronising. ‘You need to go back to the specialist, Elise. Maybe there’s something he can give you.’

I recognise the first warning sign. Usually it gives way to anger, and if I don’t back down now, he’ll do whatever it takes to make sure I do. But I’m not backing down when it’s so clearly Andrew who’s in the wrong here. ‘She called the landline. Your lovers usually do, Andrew. Did you know that? Oh, of course you do,’ I say sarcastically. ‘Silly Elise. It’s you who puts them up to it, isn’t it? Anyway, this time I wrote the number down, and this afternoon I called it.’ It takes all my strength to hold his gaze. I won’t let him get to me. ‘As you’d expect, it went to voicemail.’

A woman’s voice. ‘Please leave a message.’ Four words, but it’s all you need when it’s a voice you know.

It’s bad enough to put a face to the mystery woman Andrew’s been screwing. But to know that I tried to befriend her, to know that she’s now dead after crashing her car … With each passing second, more is becoming clear in my brain. Hollie’s comings and goings here; her agitation, hardly surprising given her father’s problems, while her stepmother was shagging Andrew. ‘But it got complicated, didn’t it, because Hollie found out.’

Poor Hollie, carrying the weight of it alone.

Instead of blustering his way out of it, he shakes his head. ‘This is ridiculous, Elise. Yes, I’ve been seeing someone. It isn’t a secret. Hardly surprising when you’re so cold towards me.’

Andrew’s done this before, twisting the truth, making his behaviour my responsibility. Even so, his audacity is breath-taking. ‘I’m not in the habit of sleeping with men who shag around,’ I say curtly. ‘And we’re talking about Stephanie, not me. Maybe it was Hollie who slashed your tyres. Maybe she’d found out.’ I shake my head. ‘God knows you deserved it.’ He’d better hope the police don’t make the connection. It would make him a suspect in Hollie’s murder.

Andrew’s silent for a moment. ‘That girl had problems. Hardly surprising given her background.’

I stare at him. It’s a staggering example of the way Andrew thinks. ‘How can you say that, Andrew?’

Watching his jaw clench, I tense, waiting for a reaction. But today he doesn’t explode in anger. Instead, there’s a trace of vulnerability I haven’t seen in years as he sighs heavily. ‘Hollie was completely unstable. There was an incident. Last year.’

‘What kind of incident?’ My voice is cold. ‘And why don’t I know about it?’

‘It was nothing to do with you,’ he says crisply, any impression of vulnerability instantly dispelled. ‘But if you must know, now and then, a teenaged girl gets a crush. Usually girls seeking a father figure. Hollie made an appointment to see me at the surgery. She said she had a lump in one of her breasts. I told her I’d ask a chaperone to come in, but she said she didn’t want anyone else in with us.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.